Chapter 050: Not Very Damaging, But Highly Insulting
AI Generated Chu Yiren's Beautiful Pictures
If the woman who sprayed Zhou Weihao with wine was not Chu Yiren, a wealthy heiress from a prominent family, given his usual arrogant and overbearing nature, he would have slapped her without hesitation.
In Shanghai, background and influence matter.
Although Zhou Weihao's father, Zhou Zhengyi, was nominally the richest man in Shanghai, that was merely based on official tax declarations that placed him at the top of the rich list.
The Chu Family's net assets, if not for offshore trusts and legitimate tax avoidance, could easily surpass the Zhou Family's by several rounds.
That's why Chu Yiren, the wealthy heiress, was so arrogant and could walk around Shanghai with such swagger.
To put it bluntly, is the richest man in Xia Kingdom, as seen on the rankings, truly the wealthiest person in Xia Kingdom?
Many powerful and influential families simply keep a low profile, silently accumulating wealth, and disdain appearing on rich lists.
Chu Yiren wrote out a check and casually handed it to the grim-faced Zhou Weihao, saying with little damage but great insult, "Zhou Gongzi, I can only apologize again! This is compensation for a new suit."
"Miss Chu, aren't you looking down on me too much?" Zhou Weihao was almost exploding with anger.
"After all, I am the son of Shanghai's richest man; would I be short on the small sum for you to compensate me for a suit?"
Zhou Weihao felt both love and anger towards Chu Yiren, snorted coldly, and then angrily left the charity auction dinner.
Before leaving, Zhou Weihao shot Lin Lang a hostile look, seemingly having formed a grudge.
Lin Lang added, "No time to shake hands for goodbye, no need to see you off, Zhou Gongzi, see you again!"
As the son of Shanghai's richest man, Zhou Weihao had always gotten whatever he wanted in Shanghai, never suffering a setback. Today, for the first time, he lost face and was almost angered to the point of spitting blood by Lin Lang and Chu Yiren working together. He stormed out without looking back.
Chu Yiren watched Zhou Weihao's angry retreating figure, and a cold, triumphant smile involuntarily bloomed on her exquisite face.
In the year 2000, the term 'simp' didn't exist yet.
In Lin Lang's eyes, Zhou Weihao was a typical simp.
AI Generated Chu Yiren's Beautiful Pictures
So, Lin Lang asked, "Yiren sister, why do you dislike this Zhou Gongzi so much?"
Chu Yiren replied with disgust, "This Zhou Weihao, relying on his father being the richest man in Shanghai, has done countless things like gambling, whoring, and bullying, including drunk driving and shifting blame, and generally throwing his weight around."
Lin Lang chuckled after hearing this, "So he's an uneducated scion."
Chu Yiren said with a look of disdain, "These rich second-generation types can only live off their parents; they won't amount to anything great."
"If the beam above is crooked, the beams below will also be crooked."
"Even his father, Zhou Zhengyi, the richest man in Shanghai, is just a parvenu with no cultural depth. Before he became successful, he was just a small-time hoodlum from Shanghai's shantytown."
"The Zhou Family are parvenus; they have no power or foundation in Shanghai, nor are they protected by any high-ranking figures. They are just foolish and rich."
"As the saying goes, 'When the heavens are too arrogant, there will be rain; when a man is too arrogant, there will be disaster.'"
"Given the arrogant personalities of Zhou Zhengyi and his son, his position as the richest man in Shanghai won't last long." Chu Yiren, with a cold smile, had already seen through everything.
Lin Lang secretly marveled after hearing this, "Chu Yiren, the wealthy heiress, is indeed no ordinary person!"
Why did Lin Lang suddenly look at Chu Yiren in a new light?
Because Lin Lang was a transmigrator, he knew that Zhou Zhengyi, the then-richest man in Shanghai, had a life of great ups and downs, from a hoodlum to the richest man in Shanghai, and then from the richest man in Shanghai to prison.
In May 2003, Zhou Zhengyi, the richest man in Shanghai, was officially arrested and sentenced to 3 years in prison for falsely reporting 700 million chinese yuan in registered capital.
In May 2007, Zhou Zhengyi was arrested again, and multiple charges were upheld. With multiple offenses combined, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in his second incarceration.
To put it bluntly, if Zhou Zhengyi had come from a powerful family with connections and high-ranking figures protecting him, it would have been impossible for him to be sentenced for such minor offenses.
In fact, his two sentences combined were almost 20 years, for crying out loud.
Before Lin Lang could think too much, Chu Yiren said, "A Lang, the charity auction dinner is about to officially begin. Our Chu Group is a co-organizer, and as the representative of the co-organizer, I need to go on stage to give a speech. So, I'll excuse myself first."
"Okay, Yiren sister! Love you~" Lin Lang made a heart gesture with his hands.
The stunning Chu Yiren smiled beautifully, then reluctantly departed.
Since Lin Lang had almost no friends from high society at the large charity dinner, he was bored and decided to perform his daily system sign-in.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing today's system sign-in. You have received the max-level 【Piano Playing Master】 skill. The host's piano playing level has now entered the top ten pianists in the world."
Lin Lang took a sip of red wine, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"nice!"
"It's so easy for me to transform into a Piano Prince. It couldn't be more awesome."
Lin Lang was bored, drinking red wine at the lively charity auction dinner.
The male host on stage, holding a microphone, announced the official start of the charity auction and rattled off a long opening speech, none of which Lin Lang paid attention to.
Even when Chu Yiren, the wealthy heiress, went on stage to give a speech as the representative of the Chu Group, Lin Lang found it pleasing to the eye and applauded for the beautiful Chu Yiren from below the stage.
Lin Lang was not interested in any of the guests at the charity auction dinner and disdained fawning over the local Hu Merchant magnates because he would soon become a top business magnate himself.
These Hu Merchant magnates of the Shanghai circle would soon come to curry favor with Lin Lang.
The atmosphere of the charity auction dinner that evening was solemn yet lively.
In the grand hall of the dinner, the auctioneer's voice was powerful and resonant, each gavel strike accompanied by warm applause.
The charity items at the event were dazzling, and regardless of their value, each carried a heavy weight of love.
Antiques and calligraphy, ceramic artworks, jewelry, bags used by celebrities, and even concert tickets signed by musicians – each item embodied the donor's wishes and hopes.
Celebrities from all walks of life, cultural and sports stars, and local Hu Merchant magnates enthusiastically bid and generously purchased auction items, contributing to charitable causes.
Time passed quickly, and as the charity dinner neared its end.
The male host on stage, smiling at the audience, held the microphone and said, "Next, please welcome our usher to present tonight's final auction item."
An usher in a cheongsam slowly walked onto the stage, holding an abstract oil painting to display the auction artwork.
"This highly aesthetic and imaginative abstract painting, 'Loneliness,' is a work specially created and donated by the young and talented artist, Miss Han Zaiyin, for this charity event."
"Miss Han Zaiyin, a native of Shanghai, comes from a scholarly family. Though she could rely on her beauty, she is also incredibly talented, an outstanding contemporary young female artist."
"Although Miss Han Zaiyin is not present in person, please give a warm round of applause to Miss Han Zaiyin, thanking her for her efforts and contributions to this charity event."
AI Generated Han Zaiyin's Beautiful Pictures 【Harem Reservation +1 (Appears after Chapter 300+)】
Warm applause erupted in the venue.
It is worth mentioning that the talented artist, Miss Han Zaiyin, was a high school classmate of Lin Lang and Zhou Mengyao.
Immediately after, the male host looked at the audience, holding the microphone, and announced, "The starting bid for this abstract painting, 'Loneliness,' is three hundred thousand chinese yuan, with each bid increment not less than fifty thousand chinese yuan."
Once the bidding began, people from all walks of life in the audience, filled with love, started raising their paddles to bid.
Being able to show their faces in the high society and contribute to charity, why wouldn't the wealthy merchants and celebrities of the upper class be happy to do so?
As dusk fell.
In the interplay of light and shadow, Lin Lang, wearing a white tuxedo, confidently raised his paddle.
Starting from the base price of three hundred thousand, after several rounds of bidding, Lin Lang successfully won the abstract painting 'Loneliness' by the beautiful artist Han Zaiyin for 2.15 million chinese yuan.
After the auctioneer at the scene made three inquiries and confirmed that no one else was raising their paddle, he struck the gavel.
Warm applause once again erupted at the scene.
Under the introduction of the host, Lin Lang slowly rose amidst the applause. At the grand charity auction dinner, he made an appearance holding a wine glass, marking his initial foray into the Shanghai business world.
The Shanghai socialites, presidents' wives, and beautiful celebrities at the event all applauded Lin Lang's generosity, casting admiring glances at the handsome Lin Lang.